8 ms·

Google Maps a Japanese Nuclear Ghost Town

157 points by arbuge 14y ago

speeder 14y ago
This is highly interesting! Things I could notice: First, wildlife just ignores radiation, also nature is quick to take back whatever we are not using. Second, Japanese architecture is interesting, no building is ugly, both the modern ones (like the waterfront building that did not got smashed) and old ones (the traditional-looking houses). Maybe excepting schools (that are just rectangular boxes filled with windows). Also, Japanese are very organized, even seeing debris scattered and destroyed stuff, the town still looks more organized and clean than the stuff I see here in Brazil for most part. Good to see that someone left a message on the blackboard, making explicit how he liked the school. Also, interesting to see that some stuff held well against the tsunami, the damaged graduation hall for example still has everything in place except where the floor collapsed, and still looking good. The cars littering a field for some reason to me look like grazing cows. Good vending machine that one supporting a building! And it is dreading when I noticed that the most present animals are crows, not other sort of birds, it is like if most of life left, and death decided to remain. This town also looks the sort of place I want to live in the future when I can (of course, without disaster...)
- Retric 14y ago
  That town had negligible amounts of radiation, but this was a clear case of better safe than sorry and calling an evacuation was clearly a good idea. However, after a few weeks the area was at normal background levels, so keeping a large exclusion zone is perhaps overly cautious. One sievert carries with it a ~5.5% chance of eventually developing cancer. These places are dealing with ~0.000001 Sv per hour level which is .008sievert after 10 years which when multiplied by say 100,000 people may suggest reasonable cancer risks. However, there is a fair amount of evidence that suggests ultra low levels of radiation are significantly less harmful than that. But, it's really hard to measure small effects on large populations as there are lot's of cancer risks.
  - cederberg 14y ago
    It is a mistake to think that radiation is evenly distributed. Or that all radiation is equally harmful. Neither are all animals and plants affected in the same way. This is much more complex than some averaged random statistics will have you believe.
    - Retric 14y ago
      Not that I disagree with what you said and I would even add that children, adults, and the elderly all have different cancer risks as well. But, a sievert is normalized based on harm and not the energy equivalent for any one radiation type. So, while the risks are different it is plenty useful for evaluating order of magnitude risks as in is this directly lethal, a significant cancer risk, a minor cancer risk or a negligible risk.
- guscost 14y ago
  I'm inclined to agree with the wildlife. Are people legally allowed to move here?
- bluedanieru 14y ago
  >Second, Japanese architecture is interesting, no building is ugly, both the modern ones (like the waterfront building that did not got smashed) and old ones (the traditional-looking houses). I promise you this is not true. Run-down buildings are to be had like anywhere else, and the country probably has slightly more than its share of ugly post-modern bullshit architecture. That said, the pretty stuff is really pretty, IMO.
- StavrosK 14y ago
  What surprised me is that someone left a barely used Volkswagen Beetle there and didn't even return for it...
  - supahfly_remix 14y ago
    I noticed that, too. The owner might be dead, though.
    - StavrosK 14y ago
      Well, this got depressing quickly.
      - ctdonath 14y ago
        Well, it all started with a major earthquake + tsunami + nuclear disaster ... depressing from the start.
  - jonknee 14y ago
    Who would? It's surely insured and a new car that hasn't been flooded or doused with radiation is a lot more desirable.
  - usefulcat 14y ago
    You mean the one with the cement wall leaning on it?
- thejsjunky 14y ago
  >it is dreading when I noticed that the most present animals are crows Not necessarily a dread thing... perhaps they're karasutengu; crow spirits who live like mountain hermits and sometimes provide guidance to people. It was also the divine crow Yatagarasu who was sent from heaven to guide Emperor Jimmu to Yamato.
artursapek 14y ago
I love what Google has done with Street View. Taking the technology indoors just does something completely different for me than outdoor shots. In this place it lets you look at intimate details of what used to be other peoples' every day lives. There's so much to explore. Can any one read this blackboard? http://goo.gl/maps/zWAqm http://goo.gl/maps/zWAqm I'd love to see a hack that lets one walk around in first-person inside an environment using Street View imagery, like a video game. Maybe the imagery is sufficient for that if used right.
- mirkules 14y ago
  "I'd love to see a hack that lets one walk around in first-person inside an environment using Street View imagery, like a video game." There was a TED video in 2010 doing almost that: http://www.ted.com/talks/blaise_aguera.html http://www.ted.com/talks/blaise_aguera.html
  - artursapek 14y ago
    I just watched that whole thing. Very impressive.
    - gcb0 14y ago
      interesting, but didn't microsoft started to try to map the world with that very same approach way before streetview? i can't remember the name of the project though...
      - micro-ram 14y ago
        Terraserver.com
  - namank 14y ago
    Sorry about downvoting your comment, did not mean to.
  - deleted 14y ago
    [deleted]
jlgreco 14y ago
I understand it would not have been necessary, but I think this would have been a good opportunity to put one of those self-driving cars to use. Lots of potential obstacles and the (not really a concern) health risk factor.
- leethax0r 14y ago
  Or even just a remotely controlled car.
davidroberts 14y ago
Everything is so pristine and untouched. If it were the US, it would have all been looted and graffitied long ago. But I'm afraid by publishing the condition of his town through Google Maps, the mayor has pretty much assured it won't stay pristine very long. Japan has its share of thieves and vandals too. Plus hordes of amateur photographers and urban explorers will be trying to sneak into the place, radiation or not.
- arbuge 14y ago
  I'm thinking those bikes & the VW beetle will be the first to go...
- ChuckMcM 14y ago
  Radiation contamination makes an excellent deterrent, not only can you not see it, you can't know even if you don't feel any ill effects if you're going to die coughing up a lung in a few weeks (and no, nowhere except inside the containment buildings is that contaminated) That said, it was an opportunity for Google to take radiation readings everywhere (perhaps they did but didn't release that information). Looking at the map this town must have been in the north east plume [1] mentioned in the reports. Sadly since the first survey I can't find links to follow up surveys, the last being done around the end of 2011. Presumably with a wet season behind us there would be movement of ground contamination and I would think that every month they would do another survey if only to create better models about how a contaminated environment evolves. Is rain significant? wind? How much is is encapsulated by plants? Lots of questions. [1] http://enformable.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/New-Japan-Radmap9.png http://enformable.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/New-Japan-R...
  - pyre 14y ago
    I've watched this, and it was pretty interesting: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=or_rksDBssw http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=or_rksDBssw
  - veidr 14y ago
    > Radiation contamination makes an excellent deterrent Well, quite a lot of people here in Japan now have their own Geiger counters (pretty much everybody I know). The one I bought is a cheap (~ $150) model made by Soeks specifically to address consumer demand in post-Fukushima Japan. (http://www.amazon.co.jp/ガイガーカウンター-SOEKS-01M-2-0L-JP-NUK-079-ロシア製/dp/B0055LL1LQ/ref=sr_1_3?s=kitchen&ie=UTF8&qid=1364524184&sr=1-3 http://www.amazon.co.jp/ガイガーカウンター-SOEKS-01M-2-0L-JP-NUK-079-...)
antman 14y ago
This guys card is black is that good? https://maps.google.com/maps?q=Namie+town,+Fukushima+Prefecture,+Japan&hl=en&ll=37.490796,140.995531&spn=0.055367,0.111494&sll=37.492171,140.990038&sspn=0.082539,0.116386&hnear=Namie,+Futaba+District,+Fukushima+Prefecture,+Japan&t=m&layer=c&cbll=37.490793,140.995706&panoid=BK-BpJc09upARV7M4mM2ug&cbp=13,145.67,,2,5.13&z=14 https://maps.google.com/maps?q=Namie+town,+Fukushima+Prefect...
- mey 14y ago
  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Film_badge_dosimeter http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Film_badge_dosimeter If I am understanding that article correctly, it is used not as an alert but as a record of how much cumulative exposure a person has received while in a hazardous area.
unreal37 14y ago
Might be worth mentioning that there are people that live inside the exclusion zone, like Naoto Matsumura. He stayed behind to take care of all the animals. [1] http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/08/31/japan-farmer-fukushima-nuclear-zone_n_943012.html http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/08/31/japan-farmer-fukush... [2] https://www.facebook.com/pages/Naoto-Matsumura-Guardian-of-Fukushimas-Animals/182452015189991 https://www.facebook.com/pages/Naoto-Matsumura-Guardian-of-F...
- istvanp 14y ago
  VICE Japan also made a video [1] on a couple of people (incl. the person in your 2nd link) who decided to stay and take care of what they could. [1] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=llM9MIM_9U4 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=llM9MIM_9U4 (With English CC)
edgarvaldes 14y ago
Why the blog is dot.mx?
OGinparadise 14y ago
Lesson I learned: when you have a major accident and the government (any of them) says it's all safe to stay, eat and drink, GTFO as soon as possible. http://rt.com/news/japan-fish-radiation-fukushima-321/ http://rt.com/news/japan-fish-radiation-fukushima-321/ We made a mistake and we're sorry might not do it, when you get cancer or your children are born with 3 heads.
deleted 14y ago
[deleted]
dirktheman 14y ago
Some cars, several buildings and some things look like they've been abandoned yesterday. The VW for instance looks cleaner than my car, which I drive daily and wash regularly. Other cars are completely smashed up, rusty. The same goes for roads: some look like they've been paved yesterday, some are completely cracked and overgrown. Not meaning antthing by it, just an observation!
p6v53as 14y ago
Looks like a regular town in where i live, East Europe.
- meepmorp 14y ago
  I was thinking this, too. There's one shot of a concrete apartment block that looks like it could be taken to any number of cities in the former sphere of soviet influence.
yalogin 14y ago
Yeah but the interesting things only come out at night. Zombies, I mean zombies. Having said that, its been 2 years since it was left and the building and roads look to be intact. No dust or leaves even.

157 points by arbuge 14y ago

This is highly interesting! Things I could notice: First, wildlife just ignores radiation, also nature is quick to take back whatever we are not using. Second, Japanese architecture is interesting, no building is ugly, both the modern ones (like the waterfront building that did not got smashed) and old ones (the traditional-looking houses). Maybe excepting schools (that are just rectangular boxes filled with windows). Also, Japanese are very organized, even seeing debris scattered and destroyed stuff, the town still looks more organized and clean than the stuff I see here in Brazil for most part. Good to see that someone left a message on the blackboard, making explicit how he liked the school. Also, interesting to see that some stuff held well against the tsunami, the damaged graduation hall for example still has everything in place except where the floor collapsed, and still looking good. The cars littering a field for some reason to me look like grazing cows. Good vending machine that one supporting a building! And it is dreading when I noticed that the most present animals are crows, not other sort of birds, it is like if most of life left, and death decided to remain. This town also looks the sort of place I want to live in the future when I can (of course, without disaster...)

Retric 14y ago
That town had negligible amounts of radiation, but this was a clear case of better safe than sorry and calling an evacuation was clearly a good idea. However, after a few weeks the area was at normal background levels, so keeping a large exclusion zone is perhaps overly cautious. One sievert carries with it a ~5.5% chance of eventually developing cancer. These places are dealing with ~0.000001 Sv per hour level which is .008sievert after 10 years which when multiplied by say 100,000 people may suggest reasonable cancer risks. However, there is a fair amount of evidence that suggests ultra low levels of radiation are significantly less harmful than that. But, it's really hard to measure small effects on large populations as there are lot's of cancer risks.
- cederberg 14y ago
  It is a mistake to think that radiation is evenly distributed. Or that all radiation is equally harmful. Neither are all animals and plants affected in the same way. This is much more complex than some averaged random statistics will have you believe.
  - Retric 14y ago
    Not that I disagree with what you said and I would even add that children, adults, and the elderly all have different cancer risks as well. But, a sievert is normalized based on harm and not the energy equivalent for any one radiation type. So, while the risks are different it is plenty useful for evaluating order of magnitude risks as in is this directly lethal, a significant cancer risk, a minor cancer risk or a negligible risk.
guscost 14y ago
I'm inclined to agree with the wildlife. Are people legally allowed to move here?
bluedanieru 14y ago
>Second, Japanese architecture is interesting, no building is ugly, both the modern ones (like the waterfront building that did not got smashed) and old ones (the traditional-looking houses). I promise you this is not true. Run-down buildings are to be had like anywhere else, and the country probably has slightly more than its share of ugly post-modern bullshit architecture. That said, the pretty stuff is really pretty, IMO.
StavrosK 14y ago
What surprised me is that someone left a barely used Volkswagen Beetle there and didn't even return for it...
- supahfly_remix 14y ago
  I noticed that, too. The owner might be dead, though.
  - StavrosK 14y ago
    Well, this got depressing quickly.
    - ctdonath 14y ago
      Well, it all started with a major earthquake + tsunami + nuclear disaster ... depressing from the start.
- jonknee 14y ago
  Who would? It's surely insured and a new car that hasn't been flooded or doused with radiation is a lot more desirable.
- usefulcat 14y ago
  You mean the one with the cement wall leaning on it?
thejsjunky 14y ago
>it is dreading when I noticed that the most present animals are crows Not necessarily a dread thing... perhaps they're karasutengu; crow spirits who live like mountain hermits and sometimes provide guidance to people. It was also the divine crow Yatagarasu who was sent from heaven to guide Emperor Jimmu to Yamato.

artursapek 14y ago

I love what Google has done with Street View. Taking the technology indoors just does something completely different for me than outdoor shots. In this place it lets you look at intimate details of what used to be other peoples' every day lives. There's so much to explore. Can any one read this blackboard? http://goo.gl/maps/zWAqm http://goo.gl/maps/zWAqm I'd love to see a hack that lets one walk around in first-person inside an environment using Street View imagery, like a video game. Maybe the imagery is sufficient for that if used right.

mirkules 14y ago
"I'd love to see a hack that lets one walk around in first-person inside an environment using Street View imagery, like a video game." There was a TED video in 2010 doing almost that: http://www.ted.com/talks/blaise_aguera.html http://www.ted.com/talks/blaise_aguera.html
- artursapek 14y ago
  I just watched that whole thing. Very impressive.
  - gcb0 14y ago
    interesting, but didn't microsoft started to try to map the world with that very same approach way before streetview? i can't remember the name of the project though...
    - micro-ram 14y ago
      Terraserver.com
- namank 14y ago
  Sorry about downvoting your comment, did not mean to.
- deleted 14y ago
  [deleted]

jlgreco 14y ago

I understand it would not have been necessary, but I think this would have been a good opportunity to put one of those self-driving cars to use. Lots of potential obstacles and the (not really a concern) health risk factor.

leethax0r 14y ago
Or even just a remotely controlled car.

davidroberts 14y ago

Everything is so pristine and untouched. If it were the US, it would have all been looted and graffitied long ago. But I'm afraid by publishing the condition of his town through Google Maps, the mayor has pretty much assured it won't stay pristine very long. Japan has its share of thieves and vandals too. Plus hordes of amateur photographers and urban explorers will be trying to sneak into the place, radiation or not.

arbuge 14y ago
I'm thinking those bikes & the VW beetle will be the first to go...
ChuckMcM 14y ago
Radiation contamination makes an excellent deterrent, not only can you not see it, you can't know even if you don't feel any ill effects if you're going to die coughing up a lung in a few weeks (and no, nowhere except inside the containment buildings is that contaminated) That said, it was an opportunity for Google to take radiation readings everywhere (perhaps they did but didn't release that information). Looking at the map this town must have been in the north east plume [1] mentioned in the reports. Sadly since the first survey I can't find links to follow up surveys, the last being done around the end of 2011. Presumably with a wet season behind us there would be movement of ground contamination and I would think that every month they would do another survey if only to create better models about how a contaminated environment evolves. Is rain significant? wind? How much is is encapsulated by plants? Lots of questions. [1] http://enformable.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/New-Japan-Radmap9.png http://enformable.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/New-Japan-R...
- pyre 14y ago
  I've watched this, and it was pretty interesting: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=or_rksDBssw http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=or_rksDBssw
- veidr 14y ago
  > Radiation contamination makes an excellent deterrent Well, quite a lot of people here in Japan now have their own Geiger counters (pretty much everybody I know). The one I bought is a cheap (~ $150) model made by Soeks specifically to address consumer demand in post-Fukushima Japan. (http://www.amazon.co.jp/ガイガーカウンター-SOEKS-01M-2-0L-JP-NUK-079-ロシア製/dp/B0055LL1LQ/ref=sr_1_3?s=kitchen&ie=UTF8&qid=1364524184&sr=1-3 http://www.amazon.co.jp/ガイガーカウンター-SOEKS-01M-2-0L-JP-NUK-079-...)

antman 14y ago

This guys card is black is that good? https://maps.google.com/maps?q=Namie+town,+Fukushima+Prefecture,+Japan&hl=en&ll=37.490796,140.995531&spn=0.055367,0.111494&sll=37.492171,140.990038&sspn=0.082539,0.116386&hnear=Namie,+Futaba+District,+Fukushima+Prefecture,+Japan&t=m&layer=c&cbll=37.490793,140.995706&panoid=BK-BpJc09upARV7M4mM2ug&cbp=13,145.67,,2,5.13&z=14 https://maps.google.com/maps?q=Namie+town,+Fukushima+Prefect...

mey 14y ago
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Film_badge_dosimeter http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Film_badge_dosimeter If I am understanding that article correctly, it is used not as an alert but as a record of how much cumulative exposure a person has received while in a hazardous area.

unreal37 14y ago

Might be worth mentioning that there are people that live inside the exclusion zone, like Naoto Matsumura. He stayed behind to take care of all the animals. [1] http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/08/31/japan-farmer-fukushima-nuclear-zone_n_943012.html http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/08/31/japan-farmer-fukush... [2] https://www.facebook.com/pages/Naoto-Matsumura-Guardian-of-Fukushimas-Animals/182452015189991 https://www.facebook.com/pages/Naoto-Matsumura-Guardian-of-F...

istvanp 14y ago
VICE Japan also made a video [1] on a couple of people (incl. the person in your 2nd link) who decided to stay and take care of what they could. [1] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=llM9MIM_9U4 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=llM9MIM_9U4 (With English CC)

edgarvaldes 14y ago

Why the blog is dot.mx?

OGinparadise 14y ago

Lesson I learned: when you have a major accident and the government (any of them) says it's all safe to stay, eat and drink, GTFO as soon as possible. http://rt.com/news/japan-fish-radiation-fukushima-321/ http://rt.com/news/japan-fish-radiation-fukushima-321/ We made a mistake and we're sorry might not do it, when you get cancer or your children are born with 3 heads.

deleted 14y ago

[deleted]

dirktheman 14y ago

Some cars, several buildings and some things look like they've been abandoned yesterday. The VW for instance looks cleaner than my car, which I drive daily and wash regularly. Other cars are completely smashed up, rusty. The same goes for roads: some look like they've been paved yesterday, some are completely cracked and overgrown. Not meaning antthing by it, just an observation!

p6v53as 14y ago

Looks like a regular town in where i live, East Europe.

meepmorp 14y ago
I was thinking this, too. There's one shot of a concrete apartment block that looks like it could be taken to any number of cities in the former sphere of soviet influence.

yalogin 14y ago

Yeah but the interesting things only come out at night. Zombies, I mean zombies. Having said that, its been 2 years since it was left and the building and roads look to be intact. No dust or leaves even.